Retrial backed by father

May 3 2008 by Liz Hands, The Journal

THE father of a toddler allegedly killed by his babysitter last night welcomed the news that she will face a retrial.

Babysitter Suzanne Holdsworth was released from prison on Thursday after the Court of Appeal declared her conviction for the murder of two-year-old Kyle Fisher unsafe.

Holdsworth, 37, who spent three years behind bars at Low Newton prison in County Durham, is now on conditional bail and will face a new trial over the toddler’s death.

But last night Kyle’s father Jon Taylor, of Houghton-le-Spring, County Durham, said he hoped the new trial will finally “answer the unanswered questions”.

“I only want to know what really happened,” said Mr Taylor, who plans to attend the retrial. There are still a lot of unanswered questions about what happened on the day Kyle died. I hope the retrial will finally give us the truth. Nothing can ever bring Kyle back, but we all need to know what happened.”

Lawyers for Ms Holdsworth argued that new evidence showed she was the victim of a miscarriage of justice over the death of the youngster. The Court of Appeal was told Kyle’s brain had abnormalities which predisposed him to epilepsy.

Her conviction was ruled unsafe and she was granted bail ahead of a retrial.

Mr Taylor added: “I think the police should have taken more time investigating.

“It feels like it was yesterday. I was never kept up to date with what was happening but it seemed something was wrong.”

Kyle died at the Hartlepool home of Ms Holdsworth in 2005. She was accused of having lost her temper while looking after the child, whose 19-year-old mother was on a night out.

However, she consistently denied injuring Kyle and claimed he had suffered a fit as they sat watching television.

And despite starting a new family, Mr Taylor said he is still struggling to come to terms with the tragedy.

Since Kyle’s death, he has set up home with his fiancee and has two young children, two-year-old Sophie and Jon, nine months. “I’ve tried my best to move on and get my life back together, but it’s been really difficult, it seems impossible,” Mr Taylor said.

“I think about Kyle every day. I visit his grave as often as I can. I will never forget my son.”

Mr Taylor said he and Kyle’s mum, Clare, were together for more than three years, but split up when their son was just a few months old. They got back together, but their relationship ended permanently a short time later.